Back in December, I first shared news of Elton John: The Cut, a contest in which filmmakers would compete via YouTube for a shot at directing official music videos for three iconic songs that had never had proper videos. In celebration of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s 50th anniversary of their songwriting partnership, Elton John, supported by YouTube, launched their search for directors to helm “Rocket Man,” “Tiny Dancer,” and “Bennie and the Jets.” After receiving entries from more than 50 countries, the winners have been determined – winners that Bernie Taupin says “are all too talented to fail.” Check out the reveal of the three winners below…
From the official announcement: “On February 28th the full judging panel for The Cut, made up of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, along with Barry Jenkins (Oscar-Winning Director), Jeffrey Katzenberg (CEO and Founder of Dreamworks Animation) and Melina Matsoukas (Grammy Award-Winning Music Video Director), gathered in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. They were joined by the YouTube mentors for each category, Kurt Hugo Schneider (Live action – Tiny Dancer), Parris Goebel (Choreography – Bennie and the Jets) and PES (Animation – Rocket Man) who presented their shortlist of 5 choices for their category to the judging panel. A final winner was selected for each category winning the opportunity to make the official music video and $10,000 to support future creative endeavors.”
Final videos will be shown later this month. Stay tuned…
